Not since Sherlock Holmes tangled with Henry Baskerville”™s rotten hound has there been so chilling a calling card from a dog:
“This is not a joke. If you ever want to see these people again, bring me a 5 lb. rib roast in a plain brown bag.” Signed: “The Dog.”
What evil lay behind a door with such a sentiment on the mat? A fiendish friend of Cujo”™s? A gangster mutt gone to the mattresses after a botched Snausages heist?
Diane Podolsky opens the door. She smiles. Hostages often do that, coming to back their captors ”“ the Stockholm syndrome. This rib roast-extorting cur knew no limits to its depravity.
As it might play out on the police blotter: suspect is white, of Maltese extraction, dark eyes, facial hair, answers to Elliott.
Podolsky, 47, swings the door open. There, behind her, is Elliott, 11 in people years ”¦ and it”™s clear this dog means business ”“ he could easily if you”™re not careful love you to death.
This day, Elliott has a sidekick named Baby Saia, a neighbor”™s dog that is 2 in people years and, at least when Elliott is in the room, is not the brains of the outfit.
Elliott, is the rib roast-extorting dog of Podolsky, certified by the Council of Professional Dog Trainers and additionally possessing a certificate in dog counseling and training from the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, which she calls “the Harvard of dog-training academies. I believe I”™m one of, if not the only dog trainer in Westchester County with this combination of qualifications.”
Podolsky”™s business is The Cultured Canine in downtown White Plains (theculturedcanine.net or 288-0020). She typically has half a dozen clients at a time, usually working in their homes; five sessions cost $700. For toy breeds ”“ a specialty ”“ she takes them into her home for two- to three-week sleepovers, which can be coordinated with family vacations. “It”™s a good up-front investment that pays off with a lifetime of stress reduction,” she says, noting, “You don”™t have to be a magician or a whisperer. The media portray this as a mystifying thing; it so isn”™t.”
Podolsky grew up on Long Island and did not have a dog. “My wish was always for a fluffy white dog with big brown eyes. With Elliott, I finally got my wish.”
Podolsky”™s grandmother gave her money for Elliott. Dog in tow, she and her life partner of 15 years Tony Siacotos headed to Vermont to Camp Gone to the Dogs for seven days of “as much dog training as you can stand ”“ all based on positive reinforcement.”
Podolsky is confident she can fix bad dog behaviors and leave clients with the pets they wanted in the first place. “Demand barking,” for example, which is when the dog wants food or a toy, is fixable: “This type of barking can be reduced effectively but can take a while, especially if the habit is already well established. It often gets worse before it gets better, giving families the mistaken impression that the dog trainer gave them bad advice when, in fact, the worsening behavior is a normal and expected part of the training process.” For barking that is stimulated by looking out the window, for example, the solution may be as simple as drawing the curtains.
Podolsky says her job does not require dog-whispering skills. “The idea is for me to train the dog and have the owner pick up the protocols and be consistent with them. If they are consistent, the results will stay.” One tip: It”™s best to hold off getting a dog with very young children in the house: “It”™s best after the child is 6 or 7.”
After work hours, Podolsky enjoys a good movie. “When I pick the leisure things, dogs aren”™t in them,” she says. She does not see dog movies like the recent “Marley & Me” or classics like “Old Yeller” because it is uncomfortable for her to unlock the methods used to train the dogs. “My father had a friend who was a professional waiter in a very high-end restaurant,” she says. “He could never go out to eat because he”™d always analyze the service. I have trouble just walking through the park.”
She enjoys classic movies, ticking off a few favorites: “The Apartment,” “Now, Voyager,” “Brief Encounter” and anything with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. She also likes foreign films and independents and quickly names: “Happy Go Lucky,” “The Lives of Others,” “Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont” and “Driving Lessons” as favorites. She and Siacotos enjoy the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. While there, they hire a dog sitter.
“I enjoy movies and good books,” she says, “but dogs are what I”™m really passionate about.”
